creative writing

Let them be Mad

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

Mad as in angry, insane, enthusiastic or in a swift manner.

I was driving 90 mph down the highway with my camera beside me and I snapped…

Mad Dash (1024x590)

I was in a mad dash and mad in every sense of the word. (Some of that lunacy is revealed in the poetic memoir Getting Me Back.)

The above photo is not one I would usually keep in my collection; it is dark, out of focus and lopsided yet I like it. Why? Because it reminds me of the world as I saw it at that moment in time.

I will probably be the only one to ever appreciate this inferior blurred image but maybe it will spark something in a stubborn character you are trying to bring to life.

Maybe the character is hiding something from you; afraid to reveal their passion, their fury or the fact that they are bat-shit crazy.

Tell them it’s okay. Everyone… every living creature [even saints] have moments of madness at some point in their life. Heck, even Jesus got mad. Wasn’t he ticked-off/pissed/irate when he turned the tables over and cleared the temple? Damn right he was!

And what about the insanity so many of the great artists/creators in history suffered from? Think about that, eh?

Allow your characters the freedom of expression.  Let them be mad.

Grammar Humor (Be Drunk )

/ Janna Hill / 3 Comments

All little humor [especially for you NaNoWrimo-ers]

You all have probably heard the phrase, “Write drunk, edit sober.” Well now is the time to be drunk my friends. Write with abandon.

There will be plenty of time for editing when you sober up.

Don’t Forget to Set the Table (Writing Prompt)

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

What are your characters eating? Drinking?

Set the table and invite us into your story with tempting descriptions.

Is the food/drink new to the character or is it the usual?

What is the usual?

Is it wine? Is it red wine or white wine? Do they prefer Merlot or champagne?

Maybe one of them prefers liquor? Water? Soda?

Is it smooth, bitter, dry or sweet?

Add your own beef, chicken or lamb – heck serve it to a vegetarian. How did they respond?

Light a candle [or not] and cook up something imaginative from the elements in the photo.

Groovy huh? Write on!

Write What You would Love to Read

/ Janna Hill / 5 Comments

I was just thinking…

For NaNoWriMo writers to average 50,000 words in 30 days they will need to write 1666.666 words per day. I can already hear some character gasp, “Six, six, six. It must be the work of the devil!”

Bwahahaha. I suppose it could be if you are into that sort of thing.

Hey, write what you would love to read.

Ten words a day or ten thousand, focus first on your story. That is my 2¢ worth but what do I know? I’m just sitting over here in the cheering section, waving my pom-poms and goading the contestants.

I am not much into writing under pressure these days but I do like to mentor and I encourage others to take the NaNoWriMo challenge, especially new writers. Do it even if this is the first thing you have ever written.

Don’t worry about failing the challenge; there is not a NaNoWriMo jail. (Pst. You can be a NaNoWriMo-er without registering. 😉 It’s like exercising at home.) And remember I am over here cheering you on. I’ll even try to post a picture/prompt/ mental exercise throughout the month of November.

Sail on NaNoWriMo-ers!

What do you see?

That is not just a sailboat with a blimp above it. Describe. Describe. Describe. I.e. the color of the clouds/sky; the lake/ocean/water; the shape of the blimp; the shadows/silhouettes. What type of boat is it? Where is it going? Why? What data is the blimp collecting–who does it belong to?What is the spatial relation between the boat/the blimp/the land? What is just out of view in the treeline? How fast is the sailboat/blimp traveling? Describe… Readers want details and they are so fun to write.

#TBT (How I met Maggie and Almost Killed Clara)

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

That was over 4 years ago.

But I think it’s worth telling again 😉

I was wading in the surf on Matagorda beach one warm, sunny day exchanging dialogue with Clara.walking surf

I had known Clara for about ten years and I have to admit, conversing with her was like pulling teeth. I don’t want to say she was dull, but she was too quiet and a tad introverted. Don’t get me wrong, she is a lovely girl. She is smart and pretty and sweet and kind, but she was just too darn nice for the most part. Too calm, too reasonable, too… dull! There, I said it!

Anyway, as I was wading in the surf, dragging my feet (literally to scatter the sting rays) I was thinking how I might kill her. I know that must sound horrible, we had been comrades for so long, but she wearied me. Her unspoiled, hoity-toity, prim and proper, everything by the book personality made me want to send her sailing face down with the outgoing tide. I think she knew it (she has a sixth sense thing, you know) and I figured she wasn’t going to fight me. It wasn’t in her nature. I thought maybe she wanted to die?

I had mulled it over and finally come to terms with the decision when a perky little blonde came running down the beach waving and shouting,

“Hey y’all wait for me.”

Oh my lord, I thought, while trying to ignore the thin, tanned Mississippian’s approach.

splash back.JPGI quickly shoved Clara toward the incoming wave but her feet were planted too firmly — she didn’t budge, and to my surprise she pushed back!

“Do you know her?” I asked.

Clara shook her head slowly and replied, “No but you do. You met her on a trip to Biloxi once.”

I was speechless.

“Hey, I’m Maggie,” the lady smiled as she looked past me and held out her hand, “you must be Clara.”

I suppose it’s true that opposites attract. I watched Maggie come alive and in doing so she saved Clara.

*This is a story about a story. Clara and Maggie are safe and sound (for the most part) inside a fictional series.

Read about their meeting in Book 1

Mad Monday. (I’m rooting for you, go Monday go!)

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We Six Remained (from Getting Me Back)

If I should die before I wake…

Run little hamster,

I pray the Lord my soul to take

run as fast as you can.

-0-

Sister, did you see the man,

the one with the bloody stone?

Brother did you feel the pain,

when the bullet hit the bone?

-0-

Cousin did you smell the smoke,

did you lie so still and quiet?

Uncle did you hear him choke

as the flames rolled over Zion?

-0-

Father could you hear their screams,

do they haunt you late at night?

Mother did you see their dreams

before the dreadful plight?

-0-

A precious linctus to make me feel

Another to help me sleep

And if God can hear a dead man’s prayers,

I pray my soul to keep.

-0-

Now I lay me down to rest

among the torn and drained

where millions died beneath the crest

yet, we six remained.

Life, Cats and Conundrums (Snapped)

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

I do love to write some mystery but after finishing Cloud Wrangler, The Sharecropper’s Son and Greed I decided to take a break from writing for a bit and since it is getting too hot to grow much here more than weeds y’all know that means I’ve been taking more pictures.

Well…

I was telling a few friends (because, bless my heart, I only have a few) on my Facebook  page about Pretty Kitty Puddin’ Jam wanting to be a star.

You see…

I took a few photos of her and they were accepted at Dreamstime and now she thinks she’s an icon!

I don’t mind her being a little prissy about it, I get it. I was cute once. I have a beautiful daughter and granddaughters. Heck all the women I know are beautiful and sometimes we get a little “full of ourselves” – it happens. BUT, it is not okay to be cheeky and mean. At least not to our own clan – our tribal members – our own sisters and that is what [not so] Pretty Kitty did. They usually play so well together. Usually.

So here’s what happened…

I thought it would be adorable to get a few pictures of Mia Bella (aka Mimi or Mimi-fifikins) and Miss Puddin Jam playing in a basket outdoors.  After all, who wouldn’t smile at the image of a kitten and a Chihuahua playfully scuffling in a white wicker basket that just happened to be sitting in shade of jasmine ivy?

So I situated the basket, helped the two inside and told them, “just have fun.” As I turned back to take my position for the shoot I heard a belittling remark followed by a peculiar plluuhh. I whipped around and snapped.

DSC_0008 (1024x702)

Oh my goodness, I snapped alright – in more ways than one! I told Miss Pretty Kitty Puddin’ Jam that she was the ugliest cat I had ever seen in all my life. A knock-kneed, cock-eyed, dull-witted, poor excuse of a pet! I gave her the “pretty is as pretty does” lecture and told her she should be ashamed for spitefully hurting her sister.

The truth is she has all the makings of a star and maybe on some subconscious level I am jealous? Maybe I expect too much from a kitten? Maybe I need medicine? Oh lord, we can analyze it later but I told her I would never [ever] take her picture again unless she kissed Mimi and said she was sorry.

DSC_0007 (1024x760)

Like most stars her apology appeared reluctant and less than heartfelt but what can I say? This is my crazy life… obsessed at the moment with cats and conundrums.

Hold on, there is a point to this — Help!

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

This is the fourth consecutive year I have been honored to be a judge in the FAC annual teen scholastic/literary/poetry event. This year was even more exciting because I am still alive and it was the first reason I have had to shuck my pajamas since last year. Just kidding! But seriously, FAC added a short story contest. Yay!the-pose-533x800.jpg

FAC logoA little aside: Forney Arts Council hosts the annual event but an invitation to participate is extended to several surrounding cities. Just FYI Forney is a booming little town about a stone’s throw east of Dallas Texas.

Just look at the beautiful poets and writers of our future.

Some of them receiving their first check for following their passion.

winners FAC compition

The winners

I am so proud of every single one of them. I know their parents and teachers are too; and the fabulous lady (Tiffany) with a passion for art that keeps this thing going.

Hold on, there is a point to this post —

What was it? ….

Oh yes, Help!

I need your help. It won’t cost you a dime and only a minute of your time.

What? Why? How? You ask?

Well, you see I am scheduled to give a talk/presentation next month on the art of the short story. Actually it is The Art of the Short Story & Micro/Flash Fiction.

The problem (other than the typical butterflies) is I know why I read and write short stories/flash fiction but I would love some input as to why others do.

Is it attention span? Time constraints? Challenge? Amusement? Something else?

If this thing works right I have inserted two polls, one for writers and another for readers. If not…  the comments section is always open.

Thanks Y’all.

Why do you read short stories?
(polls)

Why do you write short stories?

(polls)